


a knock at the door (as it goes)

by americandy



Series: fear like you [5]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Future Fic, Half-Sibling Incest, Incest, M/M, Margaery's POV, Modern Era, Sibling Incest, are there other stark children besides arya sansa and bran, kind of, not for the purposes of this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 23:20:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1797046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americandy/pseuds/americandy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Margaery buys a new flat and becomes enamored with her next-door neighbors, Robb and Jon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a knock at the door (as it goes)

Before she moved to the city, Margaery most looked forward to the flat she would have. She looked forward to a place all her own, without a thousand fucking roommates, decorated to her own personal taste. It would be more sizable than most her age could afford -- not by any marvel of her own,  other than aging into her trust fund -- and quite centrally located. 

 

The first place her estate agent showed her seemed too... sterile, furniture and countertops and floors with very sharp lines. She appreciated the aesthetic, it just wasn't one she wanted for herself. 

 

She told her agent as much, and after some brief work scrolling through her phone, she said "I think I've got just the place."

 

The building is visually appealing from the outside. Margaery nods slowly as her estate agent tells her that it was a hotel in the 1940s, a place popular with the famous set of the time. The brick exterior is reminiscent of Paris for some reason. 

 

The lobby is incredible, the elevator is in brass and from the original hotel, and the amenities that come with being a tenant make the price a little more justifiable. They walk down the hall to the empty suite-turned-flat and just as the agent is about to open the door, the one a little down the hall next to it opens.

 

Two men come out, one tall with curly ginger hair, and the other shorter with dark hair, longer than his companion's but just as curly. 

 

The estate agent calls out to them, hungry for a chance for Margaery to meet potential neighbors and endure her to the place further. 

 

"Excuse me, I'm showing her the place next to yours, could we come say hello?" 

The red-haired one turns to the dark-haired one who shrugs, and then he turns back in their direction and responds with a bright smile: "absolutely". 

 

They walk towards each other and meet in the middle. The men stop and the taller one throws an arm around the shorter one's shoulders and extends his other hand forward. 

 

"I'm Robb", he says, and Margaery takes his hand. It feels strong and warm around her hand.

 

"Margaery", she replies. She looks up at Robb's face; it is symmetrical and classically handsome. She tears her eyes away from him, and sees the way the shorter one is gazing up at him. It's a look that speaks of a lot happened between them, of devotion and an admiration. She takes her hand from Robb's and holds it in front of him, and it takes a second of him staring down at her hand to envelope it with his.

 

He laughs at his own cognitive dissonance. 

 

"Sorry, I'm Jon. We really love it here, if it means anything to you." 

 

His face is handsome too, but in a different way. Beautiful might be a better way to describe him, with a lovely pink mouth and dark brown eyes. 

 

The way these two look together is a sight for sore eyes, and Margaery wonders about the nature of their relationship. They might just be very handsome and tactile friends, but she has a feeling they're together.

 

"Forgive me for asking, but are you two…?" 

 

Immediately Robb and Jon look at each other and smile, and Robb's hand slips from Jon's shoulder to his hip, and pulls him in close. He leans down and kisses Jon's temple, before looking back to Margaery.

 

"We'll have been together for ten years in two months." 

 

Margaery is taken aback because they look far too young for that to be true. Her doubt must have shown on her face because Robb speaks again.

 

"We're secondary school sweethearts." 

 

Images of what their past might have been like flash before Margaery's eyes. She desperately hopes the suite she's about to see is livable because getting to know these two is something she's already looking forward to. 

 

"That's so charming, like something straight out of the movies. Pleased to have met you, Robb and Jon!" 

 

Robb smiles kindly back at her, and Jon does too a second later.

 

"Likewise", Robb says. 

 

"I hope you pick this place!" Jon adds on. They look at each other for a second before heading off for wherever, and Margaery watches Robb's hand travel from Jon's hip to the swell of his ass as they walk away. 

 

"Ready to see the place?" The estate agent asks expectantly. 

 

To say it's perfect is an understatement. Some walls have been covered with 1940s era-appropriate paper with yellow flowers and other walls were the brick of the exterior. The bedroom is massive, the floors are stained and polished wood, and the kitchen is big enough for a dinner party. 

 

"I'll take it," Margaery says to her agent.

 

\---

 

Moving in is easy because she liked most of the furniture included with the flat, and movers hang up all of her framed film posters. 

 

She's alone for less than ten minutes before there's a knock on the door. She makes her way down the hall and peers through her peephole. To her delight, it's ginger Robb and raven-haired Jon. She unlocks the door and opens it wide, seeing now that they have wine and cookies with them. 

 

"Welcome to the neighborhood," Jon says as he extends the cling-wrapped tray of cookies. 

 

"Obviously we don't know what kind of wine you like, so here's a rosé. Personally, I think it is the best of both worlds." 

 

Robb holds the bottle forward. 

 

Rather than take the gifts of goodwill, Margaery asks if they'd like to come in and open up the wine.

 

\--- 

With each glass, she learns more about them. They've known each other since they were just children, they're from the countryside about two hours away from Margaery's family's summer home, and they're contemplating purchasing a dog. 

 

She feels a little wistful, listening and interacting with them, wishing she had a relationship like theirs. It was obviously very deep and important to both of them, and as the afternoon went on, Margaery got glimpses of how sweet they were with each other. She saw them kiss briefly when they thought she was occupied with finding some crackers and cheese and she had come back to ask them if they had a preference between Red Windsor and Camembert. It felt like she was intruding on a private moment, but she chided herself for feeling that way inside her own home. 

 

They ended up with Camembert. After the wine was gone, Margaery offered to open another bottle, deciding that she liked talking to the pair. However, they declined, making mention of cleaning or cooking or something. 

 

"Make it home safe!" She ventures as they walk back down towards their door, and she hears Jon give a sharp laugh before he turns back to her and waves. 

 

She steps back inside and shuts her own door. She situates herself on the overstuffed camel-colored couch in front of the TV, the white wine she would have opened for the boys and a new glass in tow. She's in the middle of pouring herself another glass when she hears a loud sound, a human sound, one that sounds something like pain. It's so shocking that she doesn't believe her ears have identified the type of noise so quickly, but then it happens again. 

 

A long, loud, drawn out noise of anguish. The third time the noise happens, she's sure it's coming from next door. She's less sure of the nature of the noise. 

 

She hears it again, followed by a new noise, a voice that sounds like... Robb's? That oozes out a slow-as-molasses "yes".

 

 _They're fucking next door_ , she realizes. Robb and Jon are having an extremely loud sexual encounter. She would have found it funny, had her being able to hear them not also meant that they would be able to hear her. 

 

She turns on her flat screen and finds one of the Ocean's movies, cranking up the volume. Visions of what Robb might be doing to Jon are replaced by visions of herself as a master thief with a gang of witty accomplices. 

 

The noises from next door crescendo as the con plays out in front of her, but by the reveal they've stopped completely. Margaery feels happily drunk, and she decides to write her neighbors a friendly little note. It takes some effort to find her stationary, but the words are easy to write.

 

" _Boys -- It was lovely meeting you, and I look forward to having you over for dinner sometime. I just wanted to ask if in the future, you could maybe keep the volume down next time you decide to become intimate, (that's a terrible phrase but I'm trying to be polite) or maybe throw on some music._

_\-- Margaery_ ". 

 

It's been a while since she's written a note to a boy but she thinks it's safe to assume that a lipstick kiss and hearts wouldn't be apropos anymore. 

 

She folds it in half and gets up from the couch only to be stopped short by the head rush courtesy of four glasses of wine. Once it passes, she gathers herself and exits her flat, walking in a slow barefoot line to the intended destination. The note slips underneath the thick wood of the door and she hesitates after she delivers it, worried that they won't notice it. To assure that they will, she raps on the door twice before laughing and running back to her own place. 

 

After coming home, she returns to drinking. The Ocean's movie is over and some awful scary movie of the aughties is on now. The way the horror of the story is presented, like a figment of the imagination yet dangerous nonetheless, would be quite terrifying in the hands of a competent director. The movie is so engrossing in her intoxicated state that she almost doesn't hear the quick knocks on her door, but luckily there's a lull in noise to prepare the viewer for a jump scare. 

 

It is late, and there is no reason for anyone to be coming to visit her at this hour. Just because it’s late, just because she’s watching a horror movie, just because she has no goddamn idea who is behind the door, she stops in her kitchen to grab the most intimidating knife she can find.

 

After arming herself, she creeps slowly down the hall to her door. The fact that there haven't been a second set of knocks or any attempt at further communication both calms Margaery and worries her further. Maybe her unknown assailant is waiting to see if she's sleeping, thus unable to answer. As she creeps closer, she sees a small envelope on the floor, and her fear lessens greatly. She assumes it is a response to the note she delivered earlier, but she hazards a look out of her peephole just to make sure no one is lying in wait. Once she is satisfied the coast is clear, she tears the seam of the envelope open and pulls out the folded sheet of paper inside. 

 

It's fancier than her own stationary, embossed and monogrammed with a gigantic "R.S." and a wolf circling it. 

 

The following message is written in black ink cursive script:

 

" _Dear Margaery,_

_First and foremost, we are so embarrassed that it might be weeks before you see our faces. Rest assured, nothing like this will happen again. To be blunt, we didn't make it to the bedroom. Next time we will put on music, or just get over ourselves and go the distance. We accept your dinner invitation! Plans shall be discussed after we feel comfortable showing our faces._

_Robb & Jon_".

 

Margaery laughs over their chagrin and finds herself hoping they become as close of friends as she thinks they will.

 

\---

 

Dinner ends up being two weeks after the night they drink wine together, and then it becomes a habit. On Thursdays Robb and Jon come over to Margaery's for a different kind of cuisine, and they eat and drink until they grow too weary to do so anymore. Margaery never comes to theirs; they just don't do it that way. She teases them about it but they insist they like her flat the most out of both of theirs. 

 

Margaery gets a dog, dates and breaks up with a girl called Brienne, and gets hired at a tech company run by the most volatile and vile "wunderkind" on the scene named Joffrey. Jon and Robb are with her through it all, and they become like brothers to her, though she has one of her own. 

 

They know close to everything about each other -- at least, Margaery thinks they do. She continues to believe this until a fateful night almost two years into their friendship. It's later at night and she's lounging about in bed, wasting time online until she hears her buzzer followed by a flurry of knocks at her door. It's the way Jon knocks when he thinks Margaery is taking too long, he uses every knuckle to make an individual sound. It's annoying, but it's his calling card. 

 

She opens the door to find them both, and she's immediately taken aback by the way they both look. Robb is ridiculously pale normally, but tonight he is ashen, and Jon's face is as void of color as it could possibly be. 

 

"Oh, loves, what's happened?" Margaery coos at them, and they brush past her and step inside her flat. 

 

"Margaery, do you want to know why you haven't been in our flat?" Robb asks her, slowly, like precision is of the utmost importance. Margaery switches out of pity mode for a moment, confused by what that could have to do with anything. 

 

"You like mine better, I thought?" 

 

Robb purses his lips and Jon snorts in an ugly way. Margaery opens her mouth to chide Jon but Robb interjects.

 

"Marg, we have the exact same furniture. Our places have the same layout. Our wall art is a bit different, but for all intents and purposes, our abodes are identical. We couldn't let you come over because --" he pauses and looks to Jon, who nods. He seems just about sick to his stomach. "We couldn't let you over because then you would know. About us. We have done more work than you could possibly imagine just to make sure that didn't happen, but now we are telling you because we must. Because we need your help."

 

Margaery is more confused than she was when Robb had begun speaking. 

 

"You know I know you're romantically involved, right? I've seen you kiss. I heard you fucking the first night I moved in. You know my brother is gay. You know I love him and Renly. I don't know why you would assume I'd feel any differently about you." 

 

Robb sighs and rests his forehead on Jon's shoulder. 

 

"Margaery, you don't understand. That's not what this is about." Jon says quietly, and it's clear this is about something far more serious. Margaery's eyes narrow as she looks between them.

 

"Did you two kill someone?" Robb's head snaps up in surprise. His eyes are as wide as Jon's at that implication. Margaery smiles.

 

"Relax, boys. If you didn't kill someone, it's actually not that bad." 

 

Robb and Jon look at each other for a long while before turning back to Margaery. 

 

"It's almost that bad. We've never told anyone, but we assume the easiest way for you to find out would just be for you to see for yourself. It's time to come to ours, Marg." 

 

She raises her eyebrows incredulously at Robb's words.

 

"Have I died and gone to heaven? Should I bring a bottle of rosé with me?"

 

The look they both fix her with shuts up the rest of her sass. She glances down at her feet and then back up at them.

 

"Okay, let me see your place."

 

\---

 

The walk to their flat seems long and awkward. Robb and Jon are holding hands for dear life, leaning on each other, and Margaery trails behind them. 

 

Once the door to theirs is open, the first noticeable difference from it to hers is that the floors are a darker wood and covered with scattered furs. The motif is decidedly northern. The walk down the hallway from the door feels warmer than it does in her own home. When they reach the main room, the thing that promptly draws Margaery's eye is a gigantic family portrait, one on a canvas and in a frame, painted with real oil paints. 

 

Margaery walks up on the hanging art, her eyes scanning over the faces of the people featured. There's Robb, then someone who looks like she could be his mother, then a man who has the same jaw as he does. The top row ends with Jon next to Robb's father and mother. The next row has the younger half of the family in it: first, a stunning young woman with long, fiery-red hair, next a younger girl with dark hair, then a boy who seems the same age and looks something like Jon. 

 

Margaery looks from the painting to the two men standing together in front of her several times. It takes a mental leap to reach a conclusion that seems impossible yet obvious, by what she has seen and what they have said. Her lower jaw drops and her eyes widen in shock.

 

"Maybe I'm seeing this the wrong way, but are you trying to tell me that you two are... brothers?"

 

"Half," Jon corrects her instantly. Robb's eyes dart to Jon before he explains.

 

"My father had a bit of a wandering eye. Jon came to live with us so long ago that I can't remember the time before, when he wasn't around."

 

Margaery rubs the back of her hand over her eyes, then smoothes her hair. "Fuck," she says, looking at a spot on the floor. When Robb speaks, he does so with a kind of conviction in his voice.

 

"We wouldn't have told you unless we really had to, Margaery. We thought you'd know us enough by now to believe that our blood doesn't make us bad people." 

 

She considers Robb's words heavily. If they didn't care about being brothers, (half-brothers, Jon's voice echoed in her head) then why should she? It hurt to know that she'd been lied to by people she thought true friends, but then again, they couldn't exactly go around advertising what they had.  

 

Margaery looks up from the floor at the men in front of her. They're both uneasy, staring off into space ahead of them, probably unaware that they're mirroring each other.

 

"Am I the only one who knows?" She asks hesitantly, unsure of how to proceed. After her inquiry, Robb rolls his head back so he's gazing up at his high ceiling.

 

"God, no. I wish." He says, dropping his chin back down.

 

"Our father knows, but only because we fucked up and decided it would be a good idea to tell him. Speaking of parents, therein lies our entire reason for sharing all of this with you. My mum is under the impression I'm living here with a girlfriend, and..." He trails off, and Margaery smiles, because she knows where this is going.

 

"I would love to go out with you, Robbie. Back at home I used to do this all the time for Renly, when his dad came to see him." Jon's perks up hopefully at Margaery's choice of words. 

 

"You used to do it? You don't anymore? Is Renly's dad more open-minded now?" He asks. Margaery frowns because the answer she's about to give isn't what Jon would like to hear.

 

"Well, open-minded in the way your skull becomes hollow due to your brain rotting away when you die. He left the mortal coil a couple of years ago," She explains carefully. Jon sighs and Robb wraps his arms around his chest from behind. It's a gesture of total comfort, of Robb wanting to assuage his brother's fears. 

 

Though she now knows their truth, it's hard for Margaery to see them any differently or think poorly of them for it. Her heart swells for them, and she sets her mind on helping them.

 

"Boys. I'm not going to pretend that your confession makes any sense to me, but I will admit I don't think less of you for it. It almost seems like it can't be true... You remind me so much of Loras and Renly, like the only light that exists in the universe comes from each other. I don't understand, and I have questions, but I will help you." 

 

Robb disentangles from Jon and they both give her a gigantic hug, saying all at once that she's the best friend they've ever had and they'll never forget her and ten other things. She can't help the smile that spreads across her face, it's impossible not to when Robb and Jon are beaming down at her. 

“I know you’re overjoyed, but I’m assuming we have work to do, or else you wouldn’t have come to me in the middle of the night with this. When is your mum coming?”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from The Academy Is...'s "Neighbors". I wanted to write Robb and Jon through someone else's eyes.


End file.
